[LEL17] LEL bike evolution.

[Exit Stage Left]

I was looking at LEL 2005 photos and I found one of me and the bike I rode.





It had started out in 2000 with a titanium cycle cross frame and a carbon fibre cyclecross fork, with components I sourced locally at discount prices. So it had Shimano RSX 8 speed levers, RSX rear mech. RSX front mech, some cheap cyclocross wheels from Ribble, Tektro mini V brakes, a 180mm Sugino MTB chainset, 11-21 cassette, Turbomatic 4 saddle, 3TTT randonneur bars and Look pedals.

That configuration completed LEL 2001, but some spokes pulled out of the rear rim. That wheel was rebuilt with a tandem rim.

The titanium frame cracked at the bottom bracket, and was replaced with a Hewitt Chieviot touring frame.

For PBP 2003 I got a pair of wheels made up by Paul Hewitt. DRC ST19s on Shimano XT hubs, paired with some fast Panaracer 26 mm tyres. They were good, but I got knocked off by a scooter, and the PBP helpers got me a pair of Mavic Cosmos, which was all that was left in Fougeres. 

In June 2005 the eyelets pulled out of the rear rim, so I had a new one fitted by Paul Hewitt. I started LEL 2005 from Thorne on that wheel set, on returning to Thorne the rear rim was failing, but I had the tandem rimmed Tiagra hub wheel as a spare, which I carried on to London with.

I’d fitted a titanium bottom bracket before PBP 2003, and that must have been compromised by the PBP scooter incident, as it broke just North of Kimbolton. I was filming the ride, so Simon Doughty kindly diverted to bring me a replacement, which is what this picture is about. I finished the ride with the help of LWAB.



That bike was also used for PBP 2007 and LEL 2009, but it evolved as bits broke, wore out or I sought improvements.

For PBP 2011 I bought a bike that Paul Hewitt had built for a Cycle Plus test of steel-framed Audax bikes, and rode that unmodified, apart from the saddle. I finished PBP in under 84 hours on that, but my hands suffered.



There are two approaches to bike selection, tweak what you have as you go along, or buy a proven design. The second is probably more certain if LEL is an isolated adventure. If I was doing LEL as a stand alone ride today, I’d probably get a disc-braked cyclocross/ touring bike.

I popped into ‘Buy A Bike’ on the A49 near Chorley to see what they had, and the Specialised Sequoia looked good. Essentially it’s a disc braked equivalent of the bike Andy Wilkinson uses for everything from touring to setting 12 and 24 hour records. With mudguards, that would get you round LEL in any conditions, and do a lot else.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/specialized-sequoia-elite-review-50893/

[LMT]

That's all well and good but I prefer ones mind to evolve when it comes to riding bikes. To open your mind and ride a bike where you only need 130 watts to go 38kph - thats where its at.

[Exit Stage Left]

That's great if you want to do 1200km+ rides in your mind. However, the equipment used to complete rides does change when you do a number them on a bike. I'm sure that multi LEL and PBP recumbent riders can tell us a lot.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Pf_-MVsjM

[LMT]

That's great if you want to do 1200km+ rides in your mind. However, the equipment used to complete rides does change when you do a number them on a bike. I'm sure that multi LEL and PBP recumbent riders can tell us a lot.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Pf_-MVsjM

You give chapter and verse about the equipment changes regarding a DF bike - a bike that by design is woeful for long distance riding. I'm saying to open your mind a bit to the other bike designs out there, ones that are made for long distance cycling.

FWIW I did not change anything on the bike pre PBP and won't change anything leading up to LEL. Apart form anything that needs changing of course due to wear and tear, etc.

[LEE]

PBP 2011 - Steel Condor Fratello

PBP 2015 - Carbon Trek Domane

I would choose the Domane every time.  It covers ground so quickly and is just as comfy.

[Exit Stage Left]

I did my first interview of a Velomobile rider in 2003. Hans Wessels went on to do 65H27 that year and 55H30 in 2007. Obviously other recumbents are available. I'm only too happy to hear of their advantages. The disadvantages seem to revolve around cost, lack of versatility and the difficulties of company riding.

This video starts with Hans Wessels in 2003, and has a sequence from the LEL bike park, showing the variety of machines. Most UK bikes were fast tourers, with mudguards, often from small makers. That type of bike wasn't mainstream at the time, and many big makers' bikes had poor clearance for tyres and mudguards. The current crop of 'adventure bikes' have all the desirable features, although some might want lighter rims and tyres.

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/206885-buyer’s-guide-gravel-and-adventure-bikes-plus-16-best

[mrcharly-YHT]

That's great if you want to do 1200km+ rides in your mind. However, the equipment used to complete rides does change when you do a number them on a bike. I'm sure that multi LEL and PBP recumbent riders can tell us a lot.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Pf_-MVsjM

You give chapter and verse about the equipment changes regarding a DF bike - a bike that by design is woeful for long distance riding. I'm saying to open your mind a bit to the other bike designs out there, ones that are made for long distance cycling.

Maybe.

I note that Amanda  has a choice of recumbent or DF available to her. She is notching up her 230+ miles a day on the DF by choice.

I therefore conclude that it isn't as clearcut as you are making out.

[Kim]

To be fair, Amanda isn't allowed to use fairings.  Those are a game-changer.

Given the choice of a DF or unfaired recumbent, the primary advantage of the recumbent is that it doesn't damage the rider like a DF can (contact points, Shermer's neck, carpal tunnel, etc), and that's only going to make a difference if the level of injury would prevent the DF rider from completing the ride.  Beyond that there are both pros and cons, and the exact balance will have a lot to do with the individual rider and the nature of the route.

I think recumbent riders are - if anything - more inclined to embrace different approaches to equipment, and those who have done multiple 1200km+ rides are just as likely to have arrived at their particular configuration by tinkering with it over time.  IME recumbent riders tend to spend more time tweaking things like controls, luggage and hydration solutions than wheels and frame, but I think that just represents the scope for improvement on the different types of cycle.  There are a handful of proven solutions for carrying stuff on a DF bike, and recumbent riders tend to have fewer tyres to chose from, for example.

[Exit Stage Left]

Re. upright v recumbent. There have been some comparable performances at the top end of road cycling. Peter Kennaugh holds the bike record for the Isle of Man TT course at 1hr 23 48. Andy Wilkinson's record in a fully faired Windcheetah is about 5 mins faster than that, although I can't find a link for the exact time. LEJOG is a similar story.

The official Road Records Association record for rider on a conventional bicycle is 44 hours, 4 minutes and 20 seconds, set by Gethin Butler in 2001. The record for cycling from Land's End to John o' Groats is held by Andy Wilkinson, who completed the journey in 41 hours, 4 minutes and 22 seconds on a Windcheetah recumbent tricycle.

Wilkinson held the 24 hour record at 525 miles for a long time riding a Giant MCR, which was carbon monocoque, so not a Diamond Framed bike. He later raised the record to 542 miles on a diamond-framed bike which is very much like the current adventure bikes, but with V Brakes to make wheel swapping easier.

It's brakes which determine the amount of clearance for tyres and mudguards. Discs have broken that connection, as you can use 650 700c or 29ers.

[LMT]

That's great if you want to do 1200km+ rides in your mind. However, the equipment used to complete rides does change when you do a number them on a bike. I'm sure that multi LEL and PBP recumbent riders can tell us a lot.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Pf_-MVsjM

You give chapter and verse about the equipment changes regarding a DF bike - a bike that by design is woeful for long distance riding. I'm saying to open your mind a bit to the other bike designs out there, ones that are made for long distance cycling.

Maybe.

I note that Amanda  has a choice of recumbent or DF available to her. She is notching up her 230+ miles a day on the DF by choice.

I therefore conclude that it isn't as clearcut as you are making out.

it is clear cut,  in one form or another recumbents hold all speed and endurance records. The weekend just gone,  someone rode 311 miles at a NP of 193 watts in twelvw hours at Sebring. Tests have shown that on an unfaired recumbent with dual disks you can hit 38kph with just ove 100 watts. DF's come no where near this.


More than likely Coker rides a df as they are better suited in a paceline and it is something she is used to.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

You'd have thought that 12 months of 230 mile days would give somebody enough time to get used to a faster bike. High racers are often used in pacelines with uprights.

[rob]

The British 12hr TT record is 317 miles.   Outright speed records don't reference how much power the rider put out and nor should they.

[Exit Stage Left]

The bikes most will use have evolved to allow a wider choice of tyres mainly, and have adopted MTB technology. 

Folding bikes are quite popular, how have they been changing?

Velomobiles are the opposite end of the convenience spectrum, are there any that break down for air transport? I must admit that being able to see over hedges and climb hills easily is important around here, so I've never given the practicalities much thought.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Velomobiles are the opposite end of the convenience spectrum, are there any that break down for air transport?

The nearest thing is probably the WAW, formed from three sections but probably still too sizeable for easy air travel. Even so, the improvement in portability is enough to put it at the top of my list for now.
http://www.katanga.eu/waw/

[vorsprung]

Here's my 2005 bike


8 speed
steel frame

The Schmidt hub, Brooks saddle and Carradice bag shown in this picture are still in regular use

[frankly frankie]

Wilkinson held the 24 hour record at 525 miles for a long time riding a Giant MCR, which was carbon monocoque, so not a Diamond Framed bike.

20 years ago - and lidless, I note.  Well done, sir.  To be fair I think I would call that a 'virtual' diamond frame.

[Exit Stage Left]

I was at the same table as Andy at an AUK AGM Dinner at Llandrindod Wells, and the curator of the cycling museum was after that bike. There were actually two that Andy rode. A prototype during the 1996 season in road races and a production version he rode in the 1997 '24'.

Mike Burrows was the designer, Giant were the first manufacturer to champion the 'compact' frame, another of Mike's ideas. Andy has been involved around many innovations, he has lots of interesting ideas. The ideas in the MCR frame could form the backbone of a recumbent.

[R_nger]

Am I the only person who saw a stilleto shoe there ?!!

[nextSibling]

in one form or another recumbents hold all speed and endurance records.

I'm not sure thats true for ultra-distance events. The fastest recumbent RAAM finisher is a couple of days slower than the overall record, for example. I'm not sure anyone's even attempted the Transcontinental or TransAm on a recumbent yet (the rules don't prevent them). People competitive at those sorts of distances seem to be favoring uprights and I doubt it's just down to a lack of imagination. I suspect there's subtler nuances to the upright vs. recumbent debate, especially over long distances.

[Exit Stage Left]

The overall RAAM record is held by a 2 wheel faired HPV, ridden by a 4 man relay team. It was run as a separate event in 1989. http://www.lightningbikes.com/media/1989-raam-bicycling.html

I don't think HPVs can ever fit into a commercial magazine environment. A lot of the interest in Ultra events comes from triathletes, and they tend to compete around the world' in mass events, so HPVs would never fit in with the transport requirements. Any athlete with ambitions to make a living has to align themselves with marketable products, and HPVs are too niche to support a mainstream industry.

If the aim is to attract attention, an Elliptigo is cheaper.

[nextSibling]

Fair enough. I was thinking only of the solo record.

I don't think anyone riding RAAM or other ultra events are in it for the money. There isn't any.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Unfaired HPVs are easy to transport. Several of them (bikes and trikes) fold into airline- and train-friendly bags. Fully faired machines and especially velomobiles are the problem.

[Exit Stage Left]

Fair enough. I was thinking only of the solo record.

I don't think anyone riding RAAM or other ultra events are in it for the money. There isn't any.

I'm quite interested in the crossover between Guy Martin and Mike Hall. Cycling is a part of Guy's profile, and Mike has a profile for cyclists. I saw a Kinesis advert in Cycle magazine, and tracked down the corresponding video. The sound balance doesn't allow his voice to come over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-l1cETOmlQ

That type of bike ticks a lot of boxes, as bikepacking crosses the boundary into adventure/ outdoor magazine territory. I'm uncommercial by inclination, so I'm a bit resistant to marketing hype. However, I was happy with the bike  described in the OP apart from the brakes, as  cantis and V brakes are difficult to adjust in the middle of a long, wet, event, such as PBP 2007. Discs seem to solve that, although I have no experience of them.

[DrMekon]

The tripster is really nice. I'm a bit leery of Ti as it seems like bike companies struggle to with welding Ti. The new one with thru axles was on my list until On One did the Bish Bash Bosh cheap.

the new space chicken at the bottom of this page looks even nicer.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/gravel-adventure-bikes

[GPS]

However, I was happy with the bike  described in the OP apart from the brakes, as  cantis and V brakes are difficult to adjust in the middle of a long, wet, event, such as PBP 2007. Discs seem to solve that, although I have no experience of them.

One of the reasons I changed to cable discs was just that. I was happy to be able to adjust my TRP Spyres with a 1/4 turn of an allen key half way through a wet, laney 1000 last year. I can't imagine adjusting my old cantis whilst being so tired, cold and wet.